- Jan 5 Antonio ValentÃn Angelillo, Italian-Argentinian footballer who played for both Argentina and Italy, dies at 80
- Jan 6 Horace Ashenfelter, American athlete (Olympic gold 3000m steeplechase 1952), dies at 94
- Jan 9 Tommy Lawrence, Scottish football player and goalkeeper (Liverpool, Tranmere Rovers), dies at 77
- Jan 12 Keith Jackson, American sportscaster (ABC Monday Night Football, college football), dies at 89
- Jan 13 Doug Harvey, American Baseball HOF umpire (NL 1962-92; 5 x World Series; 7 x MLB All-Star games; career total 4,673 games), dies at 87
- Jan 13 Jack Nel, South African cricket batsman (6 Tests, Western Province), dies at 89
- Jan 14 Daniel "Dan" Gurney, American race-car driver, coach and team owner (All American Racers), dies from complications of pneumonia at 86
- Jan 15 Cyrille Regis, English former footballer, dies of a heart attack at 59
- Jan 16 Jo Jo White, American basketballer (Olympic gold - 1968), dies of complications of dementia at 71
- Jan 20 Graeme Langlands, Australian rugby league fullback, captain and coach (24 Tests; St. George RLFC; ARL "Immortal"), dies from dementia and Alzheimer's disease at 76
- Jan 21 Chartchai Chionoi, Thai boxer (WBC/WBA flyweight champion), dies of Parkinson's disease at 75
- Jan 21 David Pithey, Rhodesian cricket all-rounder (8 Tests for South Africa), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 81
- Jan 22 James "Jimmy" Armfield, British former-footballer, manager and pundit (BBC Radio Five Live), dies at 82
Baseball Players
Basketball Stars
Boxers
Footballers
NFL Stars
Tennis Champions